World History Minute: The Eiffel Tower opens to the public (May 15, 1889)

May 15, 2014

Today, it's hard to imagine Paris without Gustave Eiffel's iconic tower, but it was originally meant to be only a temporary installation for the 1889 World's Fair. Many Parisians agreed with French author Guy de Maupassant that the tower was ugly and too industrial for the city of lights. Historian John Schmidt explains how the Eiffel Tower has become one of the world's most recognizable landmarks.
(Photo: Flickr/phil)